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Fire Door Safety Week – A guide to ensuring compliance

Fire Safety is one of the most crucial aspects of safety in buildings. It can save your family or your employees from the countless hazards of fire. Fire Door Safety Week was initiated to inform about the crucial role fire doors have to play in protecting you from fire. FDSW (Fire Door Safety Week) lasts from September 26th to October 2nd.

Some Interesting Statistics

An interesting statistic reveals that almost 3 million new fire doors are purchased and put in place in UK homes and office buildings annually. Most of these doors are made from timber. Sadly, another interesting statistic from research also shows that many commercial buildings inspected do not comply with current fire door safety regulations. This failure puts the building owner at risk from prosecution and endangers the lives of the building occupants.

For this very reason, we highlight some of the Fire door safety Questions you can use for making sure that your fire door is safe.

Safety Check Questions

1. Is your door Certified?

If the door is in fact certified or not, you should be able to tell the difference. There will be a plug or label on the top or side of the fire door that shows it’s a certified fire door. You can check this by positioning a mirror near the surface of the door where you expect the label to be. You can also check it by your smart phone’s front facing camera. If you don’t find it after considerable effort report it to the in charge of your building immediately. Inhabitants of residential and commercial buildings alike can do this check.

2. Is it hinged properly or are there some loosened screws?

A fire door usually has 3 or more hinges that are firmly fastened in place with the help of tightened screws or bolts. If you notice one of the hinges coming loose, it may be a concern for the whole building. If the door is not properly maintained, it won’t be able to prevent a fire from spreading in case one breaks out. Report the loosened hinge immediately

3. Has your Door Been Sealed Properly?

Intumescent sealing is a crucial part of any fire door’s effective functionality. The research conducted showed that more than 70% of the respondents that participated in the survey for the research said that they did not have intumescent seals for their fire doors.

This is alarming as these seals should be around the frame of the door to help prevent spreading of fire and thick, black smoke if it breaks out. This smoke may cause suffocation and death on inhabitants if not contained. These seals should remain intact and free of damage. If you see any signs of damage on the seals report it immediately.

4. See any Gaps in the door?

There shouldn’t be many gaps on the top and sides of the door. A great way to check the thickness is to use a £1 coin. If it fits snuggly, that’s a great sign. It means that the door is conforming to standards. Some doors may fit two of these coins, but that is just a reference. It’s not good if you can see the light from the other side of the safety door. Cracked doors are also unsafe as they can let smoke pass through. Report and get these issues fixed immediately.